Hi Lars! What was the initial design goal you and the team set for Battlefield 3 multiplayer?
-- We thought a lot about Battlefield 2 and how Battlefield 3 would relate to it. The mindset at DICE during the development of Battlefield 2 was pretty much: “Play the game our way, or play something else”. Now, we have made a conscious effort to reverse that mentality. The goal with Battlefield 3 is to offer a vast variety of gameplay experiences and to be inviting to everyone. We’re not telling you how to play the game. You choose.

How will that be apparent in Battlefield 3?
-- Part of it is in the variety of game modes and the types of environments you can play in -- from the wide open battlefields that people learned to love in Battlefield 2, to the urban gritty maps with their tighter gameplay focus. Combining these two elements and adding destruction and our social Battlelog hub in the same package is something I believe no one else is capable of – and that just makes it doubly entertaining for me to deliver on!

Where did the “play our way” mentality come from and how did the change come about?
-- I think it emanated from the pride in the unique game modes we created at DICE, like Conquest and Rush. We’re still super proud of them, but going into Battlefield 3 we had a frank discussion about our mindset. We discussed the strengths of Battlefield and ended up with a lot of interesting questions. Does teamplay have to be squad based, or can it be in a more general sense of playing together? Am I less of a gamer if I don’t want to play in squads? If I want Team Deathmatch? If I want infantry only gameplay? That discussion really was an eye-opener and has changed how we view ourselves and what we set out to do with Battlefield 3.

Battlefield 3 is going to be our best Battlefield yet. The Frostbite 2 game engine not only lets us build spectacular multiplayer maps – it also lets us populate those maps with wildly differing kinds of environments. The classic Battlefield multiplayer map would be an open type terrain, fit for tanks, helicopters, and other vehicles to take part in the action. Now, we will take the fight to dense urban environments as well, painting a stark contrast to the more open rural gameplay.

At E3 this year, we brought the Rush mode map Operation Métro for visitors to play hands-on. In many ways, this map illustrates our multiplayer design philosophy for Battlefield 3. Operation Métro starts out in a lush, rolling park outside of the Paris city center. As the attackers push forward and take out the two enemy installations, this is when a normal multiplayer mode in a normal game would end. In Battlefield 3, this is just the beginning of a much larger journey; a journey taking you through a number of distinct and varying environments, each tasking you to re-evaluate your combat tactics and loadouts on the go.

From the opening park, you need to push underground through a dark, bombed-out metro tunnel section, and then up and out onto the downtown city streets for the final confrontation in front of the Paris stock exchange. This seamless transition in the map between contrasting areas is something that makes it feel like so much more than your typical walled-in multiplayer arena. For a sense of scale, each of the different areas in Operation Métro would be large enough to house a very good Team Deathmatch experience.

Speaking of which. We are bringing Team Deathmatch back to the multiplayer menu! It's been absent since Battlefield 1942, and to quote Lars Gustavsson, “It would almost be a criminal offense not to offer TDM to our fans, especially with the tactical destruction and realistic soldier movement that Frostbite 2 brings to the game”. Our efforts to let you play Battlefield 3 your way also means that you will have the option to play infantry only matches, for that up close and personal touch.

At DICE we have always been proud about our classic mainstay game modes Conquest and Rush. They embody much of what Battlefield stands for: vast scale and all-out vehicle warfare with an emphasis on teamplay. But focusing almost entirely on these modes have meant sacrificing the pick up and play instant action experience that a tight Team Deathmatch mode delivers.

Fans of the series can rest assured that both Conquest and Rush game modes are back, bolder and more beautiful than ever. Complementing these with Team Deathmatch means there are now even more ways to play Battlefield. From all-out vehicle warfare to tight infantry combat, it’s all about your current mood and your preferred play style. And this is far from everything we have waiting for you in the multiplayer component of Battlefield 3 -- we will return shortly to talk about more multiplayer modes and new features that change how you can play the game.

One final question for you, Lars: Battlefield 3 obviously has the broadest scope yet in the series. How are you balancing that with catering for the hardcore Battlefield 2 fans?
-- I take on the task humbly. I have the utmost respect for our Battlefield 2 fans, and I know that any feature I scrutinize in the game can be one of their darlings I’m messing with. Most of all, I’m excited we are finally returning to the core Battlefield series after a six year wait. I was Lead Designer on Battlefield 2 back then, and with Battlefield 3 I think we have the ability and the tools to create something truly amazing.

Welcome to the second installment of the Battleblog, a blog series taking you all the way to the launch of Battlefield 3 on October 25th! In this blog series, you’ll learn more about every aspect of our biggest shooter ever. This time out is a look at the classes found in multiplayer with Senior Mulitplayer Designer Alan Kertz.

Here at DICE, we’re very proud of the team play functionality that we have become known and loved for in the Battlefield series, and we’re continuing to embrace that approach for Battlefield 3, but not without a few upgrades for the new game. In Battlefield 3, we’re making sure each of the four playable classes (Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon) are each completely capable of holding their own in combat. While they each have different specialties, each class is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

If you’re that kind of lone wolf player who simply wants to jump in and cook some fools, that’s perfectly fine – we’re making sure each class in Battlefield 3 packs a mean punch on their own, giving you another chance to play it your way. However, we’re also hard at work fine-tuning each class and their unique team play capabilities, so squads in Battlefield 3 will be able to function tightly, giving even more reasons to team play than ever before.

As mentioned, the four classes available in Battlefield 3 are Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon. All classes include familiar elements, but this time around, we’re tweaking things a bit, bringing something new to our online multiplayer. Our Assault class is still the frontline run and gun class, and considering the havoc and fallen team members someone will see while on the frontlines, the Assault soldier now has medic abilities. That’s right, all the abilities such as medkits and defibrillators typically found on the Medic class are now incorporated into Assault. It makes sense that the class on the frontline will be able to revive fallen team mates, right? Right! Remember, you can play it your way, so if you want to customize your Assault soldier more towards medic abilities or towards serious gunplay, it’s totally up to you.

Engineers are returning in Battlefield 3, bringing back the class in charge of making repairs to the various vehicles on the battlefield. On the other hand, the Engineer is very adept at taking down vehicles as well – this class includes RPGs that can take down armored targets that can’t be destroyed by bullets alone, or even building facades that enemy combatants may be using to take cover. Add the fact that an Engineer’s arsenal includes Carbine weapons, you get an extremely versatile multiplayer class that can truly move like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

The Support class makes its return in Battlefield 3, incorporating the ability to use light machine guns and can lay down heavy fire, allowing him to become a serious mobile weapons platform. “Support has always been about heavy infantry firepower from his LMG,” says Alan Kertz, Senior Multiplayer Designer at DICE. “It’s a role that we’ve wanted to feel different than Assault’s running and gunning.”

This brings us to two new features in Battlefield 3: Bipods and Suppressive Fire. Bipods have a very practical use, especially for LMGs, as they provide a substantial increase in stability while laying down a base of fire. Bipods can be deployed anywhere by zooming in with your LMG when prone, or when standing/kneeling in front of suitable supports, such as a window sill. The stability created by deploying a Bipod gives players a massive boost in accuracy and recoil reduction. You’ll be able to unload an entire clip of 200 bullets from your LMG with great accuracy without even letting go of the trigger, all thanks to the Bipod.

Suppressive Fire is a new in-game mechanic that changes how you can play the game. When you lay down fire in close vicinity to an enemy, the incoming barrage will show up as a graphical blur effect on his screen to stress him and let him know it’s not safe to pop out from behind cover. Just as importantly, this mechanic also affects his character’s in-game firing accuracy, making him less of a threat by using real world tactics. Better yet? You get team play experience points for doing so!

“Supported shooting with Bipods and Suppressive Fire finally allows us to achieve an obvious difference between Assault and Support, since the heavy LMGs are not terribly mobile,” explains Kertz. “When deployed with a Bipod, they become an incredibly powerful force. Suppressive Fire forces the enemy to keep their head down and lets the Support gunner pin his enemies in place so teammates can flank.”

Love him or hate him, Recon is the long range sniper class for Battlefield 3 who excels at gathering intel while on the battlefield. His sniper scope gives this class a distinct view of the battlefield, making Recon particularly suited for spotting enemies as seen in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, ensuring your entire team can see the locations of spotted members of the opposing team. “Recon traditionally has been seen as just a sniper,” Kertz said. “We wanted to change that perception, so we’ve built several completely new teamplay oriented gadgets specifically for the Recon class so he can be a team player, even if he’s sitting on the top of Wookie Mountain.” We’ll talk more about these toys and how they work in a blog post a bit further down the road.

Even though each soldier has a default loadout, they’re there for you to completely customize, making sure you’re able to cater to your own unique style so you can play it your way. We’ll be able to talk more about unlocks, persistence and customization later in the Battleblog series, so stay tuned for more on Battlefield 3 soon!

so we’ve built several completely new teamplay oriented gadgets specifically for the Recon class so he can be a team player, even if he’s sitting on the top of Wookie Mountain.” We’ll talk more about these toys and how they work in a blog post a bit further down the road.